This refreshing new novella from from Lauren K. Nixon celebrates love and friendship from the very edge of things. Sometimes in Illyria you find yourself in need of a friend, particularly among fools.

A gentle, strange romance between two people who spend their lives on the edge of things, set after the events of Twelfth Night.

Things have settled quite amicably since the marriages of the two great houses of the town. But now there’s a new fool on the scene – and we are all fools in love.

“The Fox and the Fool is a delightfully romantic tale that sweeps you up in an instant and doesn’t let you down until you’ve savoured every last drop. Perfect for fans of Shakespeare, it will also appeal to anyone looking for an enchanting, uplifting read about love and life.” – Jessica Grace Coleman

“A light-hearted tale of fun, mischief and music – a story about the importance of friendship and brave vulnerability, all wrapped up in the setting of a Shakespearean town.” – Clare Keogh

See this link. Last week, John Scalzi (sci-fi author) had his annual “Reader Request Week”, where people send in questions they’d like to hear him answer. He then answers these.

I’m sharing this one because I find the idea of utopia interesting to explore…in part because it seems so challenging to do, given the amount of times that a supposed utopia turns out to be a dystopia instead. Obviously I need to get my hands on the series referenced here – “The Culture”, by Iain M. Banks. Hmm.

These are weird days for the country — hell, the world — and I think as writers it behooves us to look at our place and what our work means or can mean in the context of this changing landscape. Betsy had some thoughts in that direction, so here she is to talk about it:

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A few years ago I wrote a book called The Silver Scar. I’ve been joking since it sold if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named got elected, at least Alt-America would be awesome publicity for my future thriller featuring a pagan eco-terrorist and a Christian soldier trying to stop a crusade in a balkanized United States run by martial neo-Christian Churches. Alas, Scar doesn’t come out until 2018, so it’ll have to wait for its big promotional moment in the sun, which at the rate the EPA plans to roll back its regulations might be burning much hotter by then.

But I have another book out February 21, the conclusion to my Seven Eyes trilogy, called Enemy. It’s about this chronically depressed prince who suffers a coup by an upstart, spoiled lord and then has to find his missing queen, figure out how to live with magic that blinds him, and fight a foreign invasion. Cheerful stuff, right?”

I’ll be frank with you all: I’m not working on my story at the moment. I just haven’t got the time or mental energy to do it. After all, I’m focusing on 3rd Year Masters at uni full-time, plus a few other extra-curricular projects. I fit in a social life around it and around my casual job. It’s a wonder I’m able to keep blogging! (Scheduling helps a lot with that.)

I still like doing WT&TT though. So I’ll keep doing it, as much as possible.

WordWitch makes a good point here. I tend to use music as a buffer. I’ve started putting on my “soundtracks” playlist when I’m in a “get-stuff-done” mood, at least for uni things. Last year I used a miscellaneous playlist that included most of my music choices, but when you’ve got earphones in your ears (instead of listening via speakers) it’s a bit different.

These WT&TT posts will continue, but I have to admit I’m stalled at the moment, writing-wise. I just have too many other demands on my time.

Personally, I don’t “do” horror very well. But it’s still interesting to hear how feminine horror is a subgenre and how there’s a new game out that the writer of the piece has put a lot of effort into helping create….

Whenever I eventually get back to Lily’s story, I’m going to have to go to Draft #2 instead of editing Draft #1 – I waited too long. On the upside, I quite a bit more backstory and knowledge of the characters now.

For today’s post with Rachel of Chicken-Scratch Plot, we’re looking at what to do once you’re ready to start draft number two. How do you decide which advice to listen to and which…